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Based on picks I've seen, a lot of people seem to think Eastern Illinois a paper tiger. They're not. The OVC is the best it's been in a long time, and the Panthers sliced through the conference opposition like an infomercial knife slices through a tomato. EIU is similar to Fordham in terms of relative strengths & weaknesses, but noticeably better pretty much across the board. Their one weakness is special teams, where they're terrible outside of punt returns (they're the best in the nation there). Towson's a really good team, & perhaps the best of the road teams this week, but I don't think they're passing game & secondary are good enough to dodge the buzzsaw.

Here's my assessment of the matchups & my pick for the game:

• • • Quarterbacks -- Eastern Illinois
      
      Running Backs - Towson
      
      Receivers/TEs - Eastern Illinois
      
      Offensive Line - Towson
      
      
      Defensive Line - Towson
      
      Linebackers --- Eastern Illinois
      
      Secondary ---- Eastern Illinois
      
      
      Kicking ------ Towson
      
      Punting ------ Towson
      
      Return Teams - Eastern Illinois
      
      Kickoffs ------ Towson
      
      
      
      
      
      • Towson 24-41 Eastern Illinois

Vast amjority of people here and over at AGS are picking EIU, not sure where the paper tiger is coming from. Towson's LBs are the strength of the defense. If EIU's are better, then I'm going to have to do some research on them right now.

Tough for me to judge Towson, because I havent seen them play this year. I have seen EIU play teams in our conference, and what they have done to the 2 teams that made the play offs and the rest of the teams in the OVC. Being on the receiving end of that offensive passing attack. . . its a little scary. Taking nothing away from Towson, but Im going to have to be a conference homer. . . EIU by 14

Towson is as good as SIU and close to NIU. It's will not be a blowout, it will be a shootout.

Towson 52, EIEIU 49

Gil Dobie wrote:Towson is as good as SIU and close to NIU. It's will not be a blowout, it will be a shootout.

Towson 52, EIEIU 49

We're the oddball team that gets into shootouts running the ball. 60-80 yard TD bursts at a time. Its weird.

andy7171 wrote:

Gil Dobie wrote:Towson is as good as SIU and close to NIU. It's will not be a blowout, it will be a shootout.

Towson 52, EIEIU 49

We're the oddball team that gets into shootouts running the ball. 60-80 yard TD bursts at a time. Its weird.

It might look like the Vikings/Ravens game as far as scoring goes, don't know about the snow though.

Gil Dobie wrote:

andy7171 wrote: We're the oddball team that gets into shootouts running the ball. 60-80 yard TD bursts at a time. Its weird.

It might look like the Vikings/Ravens game as far as scoring goes, don't know about the snow though.

Well, we've been practicing in it all week. Highs in the upper 20's. I don't even want to know what that works out to at 6am!

Towson fan here. I still need to do my research on EIU's LBs, like Andy, but I foresee a shootout too. You have two very good quarterbacks matched up against each other, one a Payton finalist of course. And our Payton finalist is Terrance West, who needs no introduction in these parts. His backup is no slouch either. Take it from this former EIU assistant(now at Nova), who also has great things to say about our o-line.

My concerns heading in: Peter Athens had a great game against Fordham and connected well with our receivers. I'm not too worried about Athens... I'm concerned about our receivers. His top two targets (Spencer Wilkins and Leon Kinnard) are both out injured straight through Frisco.

Special teams were an embarrassment in the Fordham game. They caused one turnover on a botched return and gave the Rams a fresh set of downs on a holding penalty during a punt. The great thing about those mistakes—since, you know, we won—is that our players had the opportunity to learn from them. Those were mistakes that we could afford to make against a Fordham, though they changed the character of the game heading into the half. But we are playing very, very good football teams this week and, should we survive, next week and in Frisco. That stuff won't fly. Like how our defense got its act together after Delaware, that has to be the come to Jesus moment for the special teams.

Another thing: We haven't lost on the road yet this year. One of our home losses was a freak accident (Nova). The other was an absolute heartbreaker (Hens).

If that happens, if our receivers have another good day, Athens gets into a rhythm and our RBs work that voodoo that they do, it's going to be close, but I say Towson advances. 35-28 is what my heart tells me.

That punt fumble should NEVER have happened. No reason what so ever our PR should have charged up to attempt to catch it. It was a short punt and midefield. He'll get no where close to a punt like that in the IEU game.

The Nova loss wasn't a fluke. We played sloppy like that every game except UConn up to that point. Nova was our first real test of the season, again except UConn. Can't play that way against real competition. The Delaware game was a let down on us, players and coaches and kickers. Both our losses are our own fault, not the other teams.

Well, I meant freak accident as in what happens when you drive 90 mph down Towsontown Boulevard while tying your shoes.

With the winter storm coming through and dumping 6" of snow prior to the game and during, could be messy. Field will be slick. Maybe a low scoring. Of course I could miss us.

andy7171 wrote:Vast amjority of people here and over at AGS are picking EIU, not sure where the paper tiger is coming from. Towson's LBs are the strength of the defense. If EIU's are better, then I'm going to have to do some research on them right now.

Towson's starting LBs (Clark & Gaddis) are real good, but there's virtually nothing behind them. EIU has a lot more depth there.

andy7171 wrote:

Gil Dobie wrote:Towson is as good as SIU and close to NIU. It's will not be a blowout, it will be a shootout.

Towson 52, EIEIU 49

We're the oddball team that gets into shootouts running the ball. 60-80 yard TD bursts at a time. Its weird.

It's amazing how lots of folks over on egriz are calling this their stone-cold lock for EIU. Funny how a team can go 11-2 in one of the big three power conferences and be considered a lock to lose to a team that went 12-1 in the historically weakest conference that has participated in autobid playoffs in the past 20 years.

AZGrizFan wrote:

andy7171 wrote: We're the oddball team that gets into shootouts running the ball. 60-80 yard TD bursts at a time. Its weird.

It's amazing how lots of folks over on egriz are calling this their stone-cold lock for EIU. Funny how a team can go 11-2 in one of the big three power conferences and be considered a lock to lose to a team that went 12-1 in the historically weakest conference that has participated in autobid playoffs in the past 20 years.

Your flair for the dramatic is so ridiculous that it is sad. Griz fan......Montana? Siri, can you give him directions to the couch so he can watch the 8 teams in playoff?

AZGrizFan wrote:

andy7171 wrote: We're the oddball team that gets into shootouts running the ball. 60-80 yard TD bursts at a time. Its weird.

It's amazing how lots of folks over on egriz are calling this their stone-cold lock for EIU. Funny how a team can go 11-2 in one of the big three power conferences and be considered a lock to lose to a team that went 12-1 in the historically weakest conference that has participated in autobid playoffs in the past 20 years.

EIU nearly beat a top-25 FBS team and they crushed a bowl-bound FBS team. I think that negates any SOS questions you might have from their conference schedule.

Not to mention they didn't just run the table in conference, they slaughtered everyone in conference. Towson didn't come close to doing that. Towson also lost to two non-playoff teams & didn't play conference champ Maine.

Mvemjsunpx wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:
It's amazing how lots of folks over on egriz are calling this their stone-cold lock for EIU. Funny how a team can go 11-2 in one of the big three power conferences and be considered a lock to lose to a team that went 12-1 in the historically weakest conference that has participated in autobid playoffs in the past 20 years.

EIU nearly beat a top-25 FBS team and they crushed a bowl-bound FBS team. I think that negates any SOS questions you might have from their conference schedule.

Not to mention they didn't just run the table in conference, they slaughtered everyone in conference. Towson didn't come close to doing that. Towson also lost to two non-playoff teams & didn't play conference champ Maine.

NIU had a MAC schedule with a win over B1G Iowa, the same Iowa that had a tough time with Missouri State and Iowa St (UNI victim).

Mvemjsunpx wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:
It's amazing how lots of folks over on egriz are calling this their stone-cold lock for EIU. Funny how a team can go 11-2 in one of the big three power conferences and be considered a lock to lose to a team that went 12-1 in the historically weakest conference that has participated in autobid playoffs in the past 20 years.

EIU nearly beat a top-25 FBS team and they crushed a bowl-bound FBS team. I think that negates any SOS questions you might have from their conference schedule.

Not to mention they didn't just run the table in conference, they slaughtered everyone in conference. Towson didn't come close to doing that. Towson also lost to two non-playoff teams & didn't play conference champ Maine.

True. We didn't play Maine this year. But we did whip UNH, who beat Maine twice.

jcfrancis wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:
It's amazing how lots of folks over on egriz are calling this their stone-cold lock for EIU. Funny how a team can go 11-2 in one of the big three power conferences and be considered a lock to lose to a team that went 12-1 in the historically weakest conference that has participated in autobid playoffs in the past 20 years.

Your flair for the dramatic is so ridiculous that it is sad. Griz fan......Montana? Siri, can you give him directions to the couch so he can watch the 8 teams in playoff?

Ewww, sensative

jcfrancis wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:
It's amazing how lots of folks over on egriz are calling this their stone-cold lock for EIU. Funny how a team can go 11-2 in one of the big three power conferences and be considered a lock to lose to a team that went 12-1 in the historically weakest conference that has participated in autobid playoffs in the past 20 years.

Your flair for the dramatic is so ridiculous that it is sad. Griz fan......Montana? Siri, can you give him directions to the couch so he can watch the 8 teams in playoff?

Hey, dingleberry....I'm not saying EIU can't win. I'm saying I'm surprised that so many are calling it their stone cold lock.

Eastern Illinois is a little like the FCS version of Florida State. They are a fantastic team from a typically bad conference. They've looked really good taking care of business in impressive fashion against no one of note. The question mark is what will happen when they finally step on a field with a team who can match up with their athletes. I suspect they'll be fine and win, but they still have to prove it.

Not sensitive, just had an ultra-crappy day and let it get the best of me. Typically, I don't type things like that and send them. Although, I am a bit tired of people from the Big Sky belittling every other team from any other conference.

jcfrancis wrote:Not sensitive, just had an ultra-crappy day and let it get the best of me. Typically, I don't type things like that and send them. Although, I am a bit tired of people from the Big Sky belittling every other team from any other conference.

We don't belittle every other team from any other conference. Just teams from notoriously weak conferences like OVC, Patriot, Pioneer, MEAC, Big South, SWAC. I think that about covers it. Hey, don't get me wrong: I'd love nothing more than for some teams from each of those conferences to step forward, reverse 25 years of history and prove us wrong repeatedly, starting a NEW trend....but somehow it just never seems to happen.

O'Brien Field at EIU right now. Started snowing around 330.

half an hour to go

The stadium is empty. And the visitor side looks as weak as Charleston southern.